You probably know that Apple Remote Desktop lets you observe and control Macs across your network, but did you know that it can also count, inventory, and keep track of them for you? In this first of three articles covering the often untapped possibilities of Remote Desktop, Ryan Faas shows you the ways you can use it to significantly improve inventory processes, monitor network performance, remain alert to changes in workstations that might be signs of theft, and prepare customized reports easily on the state of the Macs in your network in preparation for an upgrade.

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Many Mac administrators and technicians know about Apple Remote Desktop,
which was introduced about four years ago. But a great number of Mac
professionals don’t realize the full potential of the product. In fact,
many assume that Remote Desktop’s only real use is to remotely monitor or
control Mac workstations and servers. There is no doubt that is one of its major
functions, especially for headless Xserves (it enables you to have complete
control of Mac OS X Server beyond using SSH terminal sessions and Apple’s
GUI administration tools).

But Remote Desktop isn’t limited to remote management, troubleshooting,
and surveillance capabilities. It can also be a powerful inventory aid or
solution, revamp classroom and computer lab interaction between instructors and
students, offer unique remote collaboration and presentation options, and make
deployments of anything from applications and updates to specific files to full
deployments of a new network of Macs much easier and more efficient.

In this first of three articles covering the often untapped possibilities of
Remote Desktop, I’ll look at the ways you can use it to significantly
improve inventory processes, monitor network performance, remain alert to
changes in workstations that might be signs of theft, and prepare customized
reports easily on the state of the Macs in your network in preparation for an
upgrade.

Review of the Apple Remote Desktop Basics

For those not familiar with Apple Remote Desktop, this section reviews the
basic steps of installing and configuring Remote Desktop. (Additional
information is available in the
Remote Desktop Administration Guide.)
The client software comes installed along with Mac OS X 10.3 or higher and is
configured using the Sharing pane in System Preferences. The Apple Remote
Desktop package from Apple contains the administrator software, which includes
the Remote Desktop application that you use to manage and interact with Remote
Desktop clients and can be purchased in 10 client and unlimited client versions.

When you install the administrator software on a workstation, it becomes an
administrator computer that can manage, observe, interact with, and generate
reports for Remote Desktop clients in your network. The installer also gives you
the option to create custom installer packages that can be used to automatically
configure the Remote Desktop client on workstations for management, which can
save you the time and energy of configuring each client by hand.